


Cuddle Bugs

by Ohnomysoul



Category: Bug Fables (Video Game)
Genre: Body Horror, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gen, Leif's request spoilers, Other, also a blink and you'd miss it chapter 5 spoil, but its wholesome once again don't worry, but... i couldn't resist, that title made me groan too dont worry, the buggles cuddle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25218010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohnomysoul/pseuds/Ohnomysoul
Summary: Normally the Golden Settlement stays in perpetual Autumn. But sometimes it does go through a "winter" like period.
Relationships: Leif/Kabbu, Team Snakemouth, sorta just a little bit mostly fluff tbh
Comments: 18
Kudos: 73





	Cuddle Bugs

**Author's Note:**

> Just in case someone didn't see the tags! Huge Leif's request spoils as well as a small blink and you'll miss it Chapter 5 Spoiler!

“You’d think that they’d give us more than a silly book for all of that,” Vi grumbled.

“Vi,” Leif started, “you do realize that we’re only staying in this inn right now because they gave us a free night here, right?”

“Yeah but what good does that do when our house is, like, super close thanks to the ant caves? What about that Leif?” Vi flopped onto the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers despite her next complaint. “Besides, you’d think they’d give us just a bit extra due to how cold it’s been in the settlement recently. Why does Venus even allow that to happen anyway?”

Kabbu perked up, “I remember reading something about it helping to renew the soil for the next harvest. Giving it a break as well as the wilted plants acting as fertilizer!”

Ah, of course Kabbu would know why. Makes sense that the one who so wished to be an explorer would actually like exploring. Someone on the team had to, with Vi’s love of treasure and Leif sticking by because there was no place he’d rather be than with these two. “Did you read that for the mission as well Kabbu, like last time?”

“Well uh…”

“You’re adorable Kabbu, never change.”

“Ugh, why’d you have to get all sappy like that Leif,” Vi mumbled, still refusing to actually get underneath the blankets despite her complaints of cold. “That’s Kabbu’s thing.”

“Being nice is not automatically sappy. Maybe if you were nicer, you’d understand.” Leif sat himself on the bed where she laid. Hah, he could feel Vi’s warm angry blush as much as he could see it. 

In response to Leif getting on the bed, Vi rolled off of it onto the floor. Leif rolled his eyes at her dramatics. “Really, Vi?”

“It’s hard to be nice when I’m so cold! I hate it, makes me feel all tired and numb and uncomfortable,” Vi said from her spot on the floor. 

Leif opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Kabbu. Good thing too. As someone who was always tired and uncomfortable because of his body’s own temperature, he held no sympathy for this easily fixable problem of hers.

“If you want Vi, we have some spare berries that you can use to buy some ingredients for tea,” Kabbu said. He had also come over to the bed, peering over it to see the grumpy bee pouting bee on the floor. “I’m sure Kut’s still open, he’d be more than glad to cook for you.”

Vi rolled over on the floor, thinking. “I’ve always wanted to know how he heated stuff up with a knife…” she thought aloud. In a burst of energy, she jumped to her feet. “Okay sure, I’ll go get some tea! Be back in a bit, don’t miss me too much!” 

“We won’t,” Leif said, earning a sigh from Kabbu.

“Come now, she’s just a kid,” Kabbu said.

“We know. We also know if she heard you say that we’d never hear the end of it.”

Kabbu hummed in agreement. Though, now that Vi was gone he could divert his attention to taking an inventory count. Not the most exciting thing, but it was necessary and Kabbu was more than willing to do it.

While watching Kabbu, Leif noticed something in particular. Something set to the side. A book. A familiar book…

By Venus it was the book about seasons. Leif stifled a small chuckle. The fact that Kabbu brought it with him was touchingly silly in a way. 

“Hey Kabbu?” Once his attention was grabbed, Leif pointed to the book by his side. He feigned ignorance, “What’s that book there? It doesn’t look like the one we got from doing this quest.”

“Oh, uh, it’s just,” Kabbu paused, quickly returning everything back to its place sans the book. Of which, he picked up and walked over to Leif with. Holding it up for him to see, he said, “It’s the one I got the information about seasons from. I thought it was pretty interesting so I checked it out to bring with me.”

Leif felt his equivalent of a heart curl and shift happily within his chest. Seeing Kabbu so happy about something was sweet. Even if his first instinct was to tease him about it, but for now he’d refrain. And he couldn’t deny that he was rather curious about the books contents as well. “Well, good thing you did. It’s probably going to be a while before Vi gets back, and we abhor the idea of her waking us up if we did fall asleep.” Leif paused, choosing his next words carefully, “You can sit down with us and read it if you’d like. We’ll probably be just messing with our magic anyways.”

Kabbu perked up. “I’d like that.”

Internally, Leif thought, _...nailed it._

///

The woven pieces of ice flickered in a ball above Leif’s claw. He tensed, willing it to become more icicle like in its formation, then flicked it towards the wall. It shattered and dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

Leif summoned another burst of magic. Freezing veins writhed and flowed under his chitin from his thorax to the tips of his claws. Another orb was formed in all its frostiness. Leif passed it from claw to claw, shifting the energy back and forth as a way to kill time. Great way to destress as well. The orb didn’t quite touch his chitin as he held it, but still had a frosty glow flowing around its core.

Once he could no longer feel the tips of his claws, he let the orb dissolve and melt away. He flexed his fingers. Strange, he normally didn’t have this problem. Of course sometimes the magic could be a bit much, but he was made for this after all, he could handle it.

But something now made it just enough to be unbearable.

He looked over to Kabbu, sitting next to the headboard away from where Leif sat on the edge of the bed. Quietly, he stood up and sat down next to Kabbu, who looked up and gave a happy little nod before turning back to his book.

Sitting next to Kabbu, Leif couldn’t help but notice how truly _warm_ he was. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t warm before, but something about the chill in the air recently combined with his tiredness made him extra aware of this fact. 

It wasn’t just temperature either. The way he spoke along with the way he cared about people. There was a comforting magic within those words stronger than his own. The difference being this magic wasn’t forged from crystals, but rather just a genuine care for others.

It felt nice to know someone actually cared. On top of being confident enough to wear that on their sleeve.

Part of him hoped Kabbu wouldn’t notice how close he had gotten. Luckily, Kabbu was enthralled in the book he was reading about the Golden Settlement and it’s seasons. By Venus, Leif had meant it earlier when he said Kabbu’s curiosity and love of learning was cute.

In the midst of his thoughts, Leif hadn’t realized that he was practically snuggled up to Kabbu’s side. Restraining himself enough to not just flat out lean on him. 

Kabbu noticed though, hard not too when your ice cube of a friend is right beside you.

He jolted. So much so that Leif could both feel and hear his heartbeat spiking. Leif winced and flinched back. He never was going to get used to that feeling of another’s intense heartbeat on top of his own. Made the fluff on his neck stand on end.

After the initial shock of it, Kabbu found himself quick to apologize. “Sorry Leif I didn’t mean to frighten you! Just shocked me is all.”

“It’s fine. We understand, it’s our fault for getting so close anyway.” Leif pulled his wings closer to his body, desperately trying to keep whatever warmth he could. Why was he feeling so cold? He should be used to this.

A warm claw touched and held Leif’s own, “Leif are you okay? You’re shaking a lot. Is something wrong? Do you need anything?”

Well, it sure _felt_ like something was wrong. At least to Leif. He was always cold, and he always dealt with this feeling on his own. But now, the feeling overpowered his senses till the ends of his limbs became uncomfortably numb. But, the warmth radiating from Kabbu, physically and metaphorically, dulled this numbness. Granted, he felt a little stressed at the heartbeat he could feel as well as his insides shifting in an attempt to keep and grasp whatever warmth he could get, but that could be dealt with later.

Leif opened his mouth, then closed it, wringing and fiddling with his claws as he tried to find a way to explain the situation… or at least what he could make out of it. “We… we are cold.”

Kabbu blinked, “Um… I mean that’s to be expected with your ice magic and all.”

Leif sighed. He can’t really dance around a problem like this. “No, we are _too cold._ Something is wrong, the cold never bothered us like this before—except maybe the cold tower in the giant's lair. But other than that, we’ve never felt so… cold.”

“It could be that the outside temperature is making it hard to regulate your inner colder temperature. Maybe it being this cold around you is throwing you off?”

Leif thought on that. It rang true, for the most part. But, he could tell it wasn’t all that felt wrong. “That would make sense. We’ve, well, had this feeling constantly, but never was it this bad.” The cordyceps inside his chest curled, “We have always been drawn towards warmth after all,” Leif let the _physically and metaphorically_ part remain unsaid, “we cannot exactly create warmth by ourselves and by nature… what we are is…” Leif left it at that.

“Leif…” Kabbu’s claw withdrew from Leif’s own. Leif didn’t even have a moment to be sad before Kabbu hugged him from the side. The book placed aside and forgotten for now. “I’m so sorry you felt this way Leif.”

Leif hesitantly hugged him back, allowing himself to lay his head on Kabbu’s shoulder. He was so _warm._ So warm in fact, that for once since he woke up, Leif too felt warm. 

Kabbu’s heartbeat quickened. “Sorry, this was unexpected, I’ll—“ Kabbu started, loosening his hold on Leif. Leif only held tighter.

“No, this is fine. This is,” Leif paused, allowing himself to go limp, “nice. This is very nice.”

It had been a long time since Leif was just, held like this. He’d hugged, cuddled, and slept near and on his teammates before, but those were all different to the feeling of being so gently held. He felt Kabbu’s claw brush through the back of his ruff, stroking downwards a couple times before laying it on his back. Leif nuzzled closer into the nook of Kabbu’s shoulder. He found it hard to resist the purr that escaped him when Kabbu laid his head against his.

The usually chilly core of crystals within his chest had lessened to something more akin to a cool breeze rather than an ice cube. And, while he wished he could ignore it, he couldn’t fully suppress the nature of his condition. The craving of warmth and security was already something Leif would have wanted, but now, even more so, he needed it. No longer did he feel the tendrils within him all curled, knotted, and tensed, trying in earnest to protect itself. Now, the tendrils were simply limp, soaking in as much warmth as they could to combat the chilliness of the crystals embedded inside him. The calming rhythmatic feeling of another’s heartbeat grounded him as well, dissipating whatever panic he felt.

Leif must’ve been dozing off, because when Kabbu shifted he snapped back to full awareness.

“Sorry Leif, I know you were about to sleep but you’re um…” Kabbu winced, “You’re clawing my back.”

Leif’s muddled sleepy mind took a second to process that information before he jolted out of Kabbu’s grip and removed his claws. By Venus, as he scooted back out of the hold, the tendrils within him coiled against his thorax in an attempt to keep soaking in that warmth. He placed a hand to his chest to quell that feeling as best he could.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to fall asleep on you—“

“It’s okay Leif, I didn’t mind it at all. You looked so happy and serene anyway so I thought it’d be best to leave you be… until you started clawing me but I know that was unintentional.” Kabbu crinkled his eye in a smile. A warm, genuine smile.

Leif paused, unsure. Then, he slowly inched back towards Kabbu. But instead of simply allowing him to hold him again, Leif laid down on the bed. “We’re tired.”

Kabbu looked the slightest bit perplexed. “Well you were just about to fall asleep. Here I’ll leave you be for now.” Before he could leave, however, Leif snatched his arm in his own.

Why were these words so hard to form? They were at the tip of his tongue, but he found himself second guessing his own thoughts. Would it be okay to request something such as this? The painful knots his cordyceps made in his chest made him lean towards asking his request. But… he’d had worse. Like when he was shanked, or whenever the magic in the air irritated the crystals inside him. It felt trivial.

But. Kabbu hadn’t shown any problem with such a request prior.

He forced the words out. “Please stay with us. We’ve always felt so cold, and being held like that was warm. And nice. But mostly warm.”

Leif’s own claw loosened to let Kabbu’s go. And in return, Kabbu crawled back up next to him. Almost instantly, Leif was curled up next to Kabbu, laying his head against his stomach, soaking in his warmth. This elicited a small squeak from Kabbu. The smuggest of smiles formed on Leif’s face, he was glad he wasn’t the only one who was nervous. 

“Are you sure you have to lay _on_ me Leif?” Kabbu asked, he had begun to stroke the fluff on Leif’s neck again.

Leif scoffed, “We are sure. You are cozy and just as soft as any pillow we’ve laid on,” Leif punctuated this with a little “boop” on the top of Kabbu’s mask-like mouth. The little flustered noises from Kabbu and his avoidance to look Leif head on brought a little laugh out of himself. “You are such a dork.”

“Excuse me? I’d prefer to think I’m just chivalrous and kind.”

“You are those things, but you’re still a dork.” Leif hummed to himself, “You’re so nervous right now. We can feel your heart beating as fast as when you challenged that beast…”

Kabbu sighed. Then despite himself, laughed. A soft, gentle laugh that made Leif’s “heart” tense softly. “When you put it like that, you make that fight sound easy,” Kabbu smiled, “of course I’m only jesting, but I still am rather afraid.”

“Afraid of what, Kabbu?” Leif lifted his head for a moment, lowering his voice and tilting his head forward in mock intimidation, “You can’t be afraid of us, can you Kabbu?” 

“Well of course I’m not—“

Leif stifled a laugh towards Kabbu’s shocked expression, laying his head back down on Kabbu’s stomach, he assured Kabbu by quickly planting a kiss where he laid his head—and his heart totally didn’t glow when Kabbu’s heart rate calmed. “We are only merely jesting Kabbu, we know you’d never be afraid of us.”

“If it’s any consolation, we are nervous too.” Leif tucked an arm around Kabbu, connecting his claw with Kabbu’s own. Leif sighed, closing his eyes. “Thank you, Kabbu, we appreciate this greatly. If only it could always be this calm.”

“Kabbu! Leif! I’m back!”

Of course he jinxed it.

Leif groaned and pressed his head into Kabbu’s side as Vi approached the two. “So… what have you two been up to?”

“Oh, uh, we’re just—“ Kabbu fumbled his words. “Um…”

“We were cold, Vi,” Leif said, “and Kabbu is very warm—“

“Speaking of warm! Vi, where did your tea go?”

Vi shrugged, “I drank it all when I was trying to get Kut to spill his secrets on how he made tea with only knives,” Vi scowled, “sneaky jerk just avoided my questions and told me to be quiet.”

Leif spoke up once again, “At least you didn’t get kicked out of the restaurant this time. Don’t think we forgot about your ban from Master Slice’s kitchen.”

“I don’t see why I should be banned for him getting what’s coming,” Vi said, quickly climbing up on the bed. “Besides I’m still cold.”

“Did the tea at least help a little bit?” Kabbu asked.

“Why don’t you just get under the covers Vi?” Leif added.

“For starters, yes it did, until the tea ran out and I got chilly from trying to get Kut to spill his secrets,” Vi continued crawling on the bed, except instead of just lying down like any polite bug ought to do, she wedged herself in between Leif and Kabbu, earning a voiced complaint from each of them. “And the reason I don’t get under the covers is because then, I might get too hot! And no bug wants that.” She cuddled closer in between the two, “And besides! Kabbu is already super warm and you are already super cold! It’s the perfect mix of temperatures~”

Leif, still a bit miffed his time cuddling Kabbu was cut short, sighed. She was just a kid after all. “It’s a good thing you’re cute Vi,” he said, snuggling her in return.”

“I’m not gonna deny that, but what’s that supposed to mean!”

“It means your cute Vi,” Kabbu added on, content with whatever was happening at the moment. 

Vi opened her mouth to say something more but was shushed by Leif. “We were about to sleep Vi, and if you want your temperature regulated cuddles so bad then you best be sleeping as well.”

“Hmmm, fine,” Vi whispered.

///

Soon enough, Vi started to snore. And Kabbu followed close behind, barely noticeable except for his slowed, softened breathing.

Leif felt himself drifting off as well, but not before planting a small kiss on Kabbu’s foreclaw. The content sigh from Kabbu made the tendrils within his chest writhe happily. He really was so warm.

Maybe the stay at the inn was a good reward after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Cordyceps whole purpose is to find a host,,, so perhaps the cordyceps likes warm and safety?
> 
> Idk but I think its cute.


End file.
